A Taste of Cape Winelands: A Vineyard Guide: Part VIII

 

Guest post by Cape Town and Cape Winelands guide, Pam McOnie

 

Pam McOnie, one of our amazing Cape Town guides, discusses another region of Stellenbosch, the Botterlary Ward, sharing detailed information about some of her favorite vineyards in this area. This is part VIII of her guest blog series, A Taste of Cape Winelands: A Vineyard Guide.

To see the other posts in this series, click the links below:

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV
• Part V
• Part VI
• Part VII

See below for Part VIII of this series, which focuses on a portion of the Paarl & Wellington Region:

Click here to view a Paarl Wine Map.

Image to the left taken from the Joostenberg Winery website.

Joostenberg Winery: If you like small family estates with rustic cellars, you will enjoy Joostenberg. If you would like to do a cellar tour with the winemaker, it is important to contact them well in advance of your visit. It is well-worth the effort as the winemaker is passionate and it is lots of fun doing tastings with him. Note that Joostenberg is very close to being certified organic and have been going through the transition to achieve this for the last few years. It is fascinating to chat to them about the journey they have been on.

On the other side of the farm near the main road is Joostenberg Deli & Restaurant.  One of the daughters married a very talented chef and they do a really fun five-course tasting menu, which is combined with their wines. You need to book for this a few days in advance and you need a minimum of four people. I can highly recommend the experience.  The tasting menu is also very well priced. The restaurant offers delicious light meals, which are exceptionally good value. This is a kid friendly restaurant with a large outside area for children to play. (Note this estate is closer to the Stellenbosch side) www.joostenberg.co.za

Fairview: This is a must-include on a wine day out. In general, I do not enjoy estates that attract large numbers of people – Fairview is the exception.  This estate is owned by Charles Back who has been an innovator in the wine industry and has continually experimented with varietals that have not been planted before in South Africa or else have only had limited plantings. In addition to his Paarl estate, he has an estate called Spice Route, which is up the West Coast and also sources grapes from various areas. He is best known for his Shiraz, although, the wines are consistently good across many varietals.

Fairview became famous for its goats cheeses in the 1980s and today they have expanded into cow’s milk cheeses. Their cheeses are available in every supermarket in the country and, as such, the locals always make a pilgrimage to Fairview when they visit the Cape, which goes some way to explain the crowds when you visit. The secret is to walk straight past the “tasting pods” in the tasting room and to head through to the quiet peaceful room at the back where you can do the sommeliers tasting of the day – in the Beryl Back room you will be able to taste 8 of their top wines paired with the farm’s cheeses.

Please note that you are welcome to ask to taste any of the wines that are not on that day’s list. I would highly recommend this tasting experience as the wines are excellent. Also, make sure you do not leave without tasting the Malabar – this is their flagship and is always excellent! Note that Fairview has now set up a depot in the US – this allows them to make deliveries from the depot using local couriers – as such they can provide you a quote in USD and the prices are really reasonable.

On the estate one of the highlights is the goat tower. Here, some of the goats that are retired from the herd are in a pen with a tower – it is great fun to watch the goats climbing up and down the tower. The Goat Shed restaurant is also delightful. They bake their own ciabatta bread and do wonderful cheese & meat platters in addition to their a la carte menu.  www.fairview.co.za

Seidelberg: Next door to Fairview, this estate is well-worth popping in to see RED HOT GLASS. This is a glass blowing studio where you can actually watch them doing the glass blowing. The pieces are contemporary and really beautiful. It is well-worth popping in to visit the store. www.seidelberg.co.za

Image to the right taken from the Landskroon website.

Landskroon: Next door to Seidelberg – if you have a sweet tooth and enjoy Port – pop in for a tasting here. Very reasonably priced wines and ports.  www.landskroonwines.com

Domaine Brahms: Owned by Gesie van Deventer who was one of the first South African women to become a wine maker.  Her struggle to make her name is inspirational. A few years ago, Gesie won winemaker of the year – a great accolade acknowledging her wine-making skills and accomplishments.  www.domainebrahms.co.za

This Article was written by Pamela McOnie who contributes to the foodie side of this website and also offers private guiding services and gourmet & wine tours of the Cape region.

Have a question for Pam or want to have Pam guide your next tour to Cape Winelands?Contact us today.